New Eagle Scout lives by the motto ‘be prepared’

The Boy Scout motto is “be prepared.” Kyle Lang, who recently earned his Eagle award, the highest award in scouting, has really taken that motto to heart.

Kyle, 18, is only a senior at Foran High School, but his list of accomplishments is daunting. He’s a certified lifeguard, and he recently completed an EMT course as he pursues his plans to become a firefighter.

With medical training under his belt, he signed on to be a volunteer firefighter in Derby, and he is working toward plans to study paramedicine and fire science at the University of New Haven.

“The motto is be prepared,” Kyle said. “Becoming a fireman is competitive, because it’s a great job and great career. You get to help people every day. The more I can do now to prepare myself, the better.”

He also has a secondary plan, which is to use his education and then continue studying to become a registered nurse and possibly a physician’s assistant.

“Being successful doesn’t mean just having one career,” he said. “I hope to have many careers that I actually enjoy doing. I enjoy helping people.”

Scouting has played a big role in Kyle’s life and in the formation of his goals. For his Eagle award project, he built two information kiosks and a field sign at Foran High School. The kiosks announce sports schedules and other information that teachers feel is important to communicate.

The field sign marks the entrance to the Vito DeVito Sports Complex.

“I wanted to do something to give back,” Kyle said. “They gave me free rein with the ideas. The sign was a definite, but I was debating between the kiosks, or picnic tables and a patio. … I was trying to think what the school would benefit from the most.”

The Eagle award project required commitment, as did staying in scouting all these years.

Kyle started out in kindergarten with Pack 709 and then moved on to Troop 721. He’s also worked alongside Troop 303, and he was part of the Sea Scout program in Milford, which fed his love of sailing.

Kyle had to choose among activities over the years — he’s also wrestled and played lacrosse.

And sometimes he felt he needed to keep his scouting commitment quiet: In some circles, scouting lacks that cool appeal.

“I’ve done everything, from skiing in Canada to snowmobiling. I built a shelter in 10-degree weather and then stayed outside in the shelter,” he said. “There are so many different opportunities in scouting.”

“You learn survival skills, but there are all different kinds of things you can do,” he added.

There are the camping, fishing, target shooting, rock climbing, and other outdoors activities. There are also networking opportunities: Scouting led Kyle to his first job, as a lifeguard with a Scout camp.

Kyle is the son of Leslie and Chris Lang. He has a brother, Jordan.

He plans to stay involved in scouting, helping with first aid and CPR badges.

“I loved scouting,” he said. “I think it’s a fantastic program.”

He plans to take a firefighting course in the next couple of weeks, and he’s hoping it will fit with his lacrosse schedule.

And continuing that motto, “be prepared,” he’s planning to take as many firefighter tests as possible so that when he finishes college he can move quickly into a career as a firefighter.